Sharif takes office as Pakistan's prime minister

February 17, 1997
Web posted at: 4:33 p.m. EDT (1633 GMT)

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Nawaz Sharif was sworn in Monday
as Pakistan's new prime minister, replacing the caretaker
government installed after President Farooq Leghari fired
Benazir Bhutto's government on November 5.

Earlier Monday, Sharif was earlier elected prime minister by
a resounding majority in the National Assembly (lower house),
reflecting the triumph of his Pakistan Muslim League in the
February 3 general election.

Sharif took a record 177 votes against a paltry 16 for
Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party. Bhutto said she will
cooperate with Sharif to keep parliament working smoothly.
Leghari fired Bhutto, a former political ally, and dissolved
the assembly on disputed charges of corruption and misrule.

Sharif, a 47-year-old industrialist-turned-politician, says
his first priority is to revive Pakistan's ailing economy.